19 Feb 2019
A car park tax introduced in Glasgow and Edinburgh would impact as many as a quarter of a million car journeys across the central Scotland region, according to official figures.
Analysis from Scotland’s most recent census shows that 255,381 car and van work journeys are made into the two cities every day.
Of these, the majority – nearly 150,000 – begin outside the city boundaries, meaning that a tax imposed by Glasgow and Edinburgh city council would actually hit more people living outside those cities than in them.
Key areas affected include South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, West Lothian, East Dunbartonshire and Midlothian.
People living there would have no say on the imposition of a car park tax set by Glasgow or Edinburgh but would still be in line to pay it if they commuted to either of those cities.
Murdo Fraser, Scottish Conservative shadow finance secretary said:
“Nicola Sturgeon claimed over the weekend that people who didn’t live in areas where this tax is to be imposed wouldn’t be affected. How out of touch can she be?
“These shocking figures show that even if only Glasgow and Edinburgh decide to go ahead and impose this levy, hundreds of thousands of commuters from those cities, and many other parts of Scotland, could be hit by the SNP’s car park tax.
“That’s thousands of people doing the right thing, going to work, and being punished by the SNP for the effort.
“When public transport is so bad, leaving with no option but to take the car, it is a total disgrace.
“This week, the SNP is bringing its Budget back to Parliament. There’s been no consultation and no thought put into this absurd tax. For everybody’s sakes, Nicola Sturgeon should listen for once and bin it now.”
The figures above are found in a 2014 analysis of travel to work flows between Local Authority areas in Scotland, conducted by Edinburgh City Council. The link is here, with figures for car and van work journeys on page 44
www.edinburgh.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/4512/census_2011_-_travel-to-work_flows_between_scottish_local_authorities_2011_and_2001_pdf
The figures for Edinburgh and Glasgow are as follows:
Edinburgh
Total car and van work journeys: 109,887
From within Edinburgh: 54,142 (originating outside Edinburgh 55,742)
Top Local Authority areas going into Edinburgh
12, 381 West Lothian
10,316 Midlothian
10,070 East Lothian
7,923 Fife
Glasgow
Total: 145,494
From within Glasgow: 55,113 (originating outside Glasgow 90,381)
Top Local Authority areas going into Glasgow
17,408 South Lanarkshire
14,703 North Lanarkshire
12,735 Renfrewshire
12,665 East Dunbartonshire
10,864 East Renfrewshire
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